Uncategorized Archives - Page 2 of 21

how to design vintage-inspired digital papers

06/09/2023
by kelli

Creating digital papers is one of my favorite things to do and I’ve been fortunate to be able to build a business around it. I started designing digital papers in 2011 when I first opened an Etsy store.

I’ve long moved on from Etsy, and now teach thousands of women how to design their own papers and sell what they create, but I still love designing digital papers.

It’s relaxing, helps me jumpstart my creativity if I’m feeling stuck, and has become sort of a meditative process. Plus, it’s just plain fun.

Digital Papers for Days

I really love vintage styles and the older, crinklier, and distressed the better. I also love bright colors and tend to marry the two in my work.

I got interested in designing digital papers when I stumbled upon digital scrapbooking way back when. It really caught my attention and I wanted to know how to use Photoshop to create these magical squares of so-called ‘paper’.

I create my papers in Photoshop and usually start with planning out what color scheme I want to use.

From there, I don’t have much of a plan other than just to have fun and see where my creativity will take me.

I like to give my papers a worn feel as if they were discovered in an old truck long forgotten in an attic.

I share more on creating digital papers, in the FREE Papermaker Challenge where you’ll get 14 free digital papers and a video.

Here’s what we’re covering in the video:

Ways to use digital papers;
Creating with papers for personal projects and using them on products to sell;
Four types of digital papers;
My favorite color palette resources;
Different types of design software & so much more!

Mixed Media Dolls and Making Your Own Stickers at Home

06/09/2023
by kelli

These mixed media dolls were so fun to create. I used a combination of “real life” elements like acrylic paint, gesso, colored pencil, and acrylic ink. I also took some pieces of old discarded paintings that I didn’t love and gave them a new life as bits of the dolls’ dresses.

I scanned them and then brought them into Photoshop so I could add some distressed touches, different patterns, and even more color.

I decided to use one of the crowns from the new graphics in my art/junk journal. I printed some stickers last week and this lady needed a crown, so I placed the little sticker crown upon her head (and added some shading with a colored pencil).

I share my resources and links below for the sticker paper I use as well as what printer I use to print out the stickers.

Of course, no graphics set would be complete, in my opinion, without digital papers and a mix of fun borders and banners so I create those to go along with the little dolls. So much color and possibility! It’s always so fun to see how the members of PLC Insiders use the graphics.

Create Your Own Stickers at Home

I found some sticker sheets on Amazon to create little stickers from the graphics. I printed out the graphics on a sheet of sticker paper and then I used scissors to cut the printed graphics out. I often get asked what printer I use. I use only Epson printers. I have been a die-hard Epson fan for as long as I can remember.

With the graphics, I really like to see how I can use them digitally as well as print them out and see what creation I can come up with. Creativity and experimenting has a way of keeping life fun and joyful even amidst challenges.

Happy creating!

Kelli

Three Free Guides!

Want to learn how I started my creative business and how I learned Photoshop to create and sell graphics and other fun designs? Get my three free guides now!

Festive Llama Graphics

04/25/2023
by kelli

I have very little (to no) experience with llamas in real-life but these llama graphics make me think they might be some of the cutest animals in the world.

Coupled with a bright, festive color palette, these llama graphics have an endless array of uses. Some of our PLC Insiders members have created fun cards from the graphics as well as t-shirt designs, planners, social media graphics, and digital download content for sale. So many uses!

Get these and thousands more graphics inside PLC Insiders – where we keep the terms easy and the restrictions low so that you can create what you want to create.

Get the Festive Llama Graphics and Thousands of Others Inside PLC Insiders.

PLC Insiders is our premium membership where we release new graphics every month, the Surprise Box, a vault full of graphics, a vault of courses, a vault of color palettes, and so much more.